The Starving One let out a startled shriek as she stumbled back as the scalding water slammed into her head, raising her hand to try and block it and sending a spray of water droplets over the area. A few hit Priscilla's legs and she decided they needed to get out of here and fast.

Priscilla didn't wait to see what the cannibal decided to do and dragged Illnyea up into a crouch, whispering, "Let's get–"

The ground shook as something huge crashed through the trees on the far side of the camp. One massive, dull red head closed its jaws, cutting off the stream of water and steam soon flowed out of its nostrils into the night sky. The two hissing heads next to it winded their way forward on surprisingly long, slimy necks to take in the scene. Green saliva dripped from one head as it opened its jaws to reveal spindly, sharp teeth perfect for tearing and the other head had a thin membrane over its bulbous brown eyes that was slowly rising upwards.

Priscilla was stunned as she stared at what had to be the Three-Headed Gorgon Newt. But it had to be at least twenty-five feet tall, nearly twice as large as the book said it could grow. She wondered if this was even the monster she thought it was, or some strange mutation cooked up by the Heinlein Fens.

But as Priscilla squinted at the beast, trying to wrap her head around the situation, she noticed a small, purple furred creature resting atop the center water-spewing head without a care in the world. From this far, all Priscilla could make out was its round bill and webbed feet, which combined with fur only had one creature coming to mind.

"Is that a fucking platypus?" Priscilla asked incredulously.

Next to her, Illnyea gasped as she followed Priscilla's gaze, looking up at the platypus like it was an angel descending from heaven.

"I can't believe it found me," Illnyea whispered.

Priscilla only had enough time to give Illnyea a 'wtf' sort of look when The Starving One had recovered from the surprise attack. The cannibal wiped the water roughly from her face, flinging the droplets roughly to the side as she took in the newt.

The Starving One's skin was now a uniformly angry red, large blisters bubbling on the skin that hadn't been torn open. It did seem that the water had cauterized The Starving One's cheek which was now rimmed with pale white skin as blood stopped flowing from it.

Priscilla was disappointed the scalding water hadn't killed The Starving One, but considering how much magic was radiating off the woman, Priscilla wasn't surprised. Even having a fraction of the cult leader's power meant that The Starving One could shrug off a hit like that.

But with the crazy cannibal distracted, this could be an opportunity.

Glancing around, Priscilla saw that the boys were still by the prisoners, who were mostly cowering and doing their best rock impressions. Kavil was staring at the newly arrived newt with his jaw agape, but Sulaiman was facing their direction.

Seeing Sulaiman made Priscilla momentarily falter.

In the dim light cast from the braziers, Sulaiman looked dreadful as the harsh shadows darkened his expression – she could barely see his skin underneath the sheen of blood that coated his face. Even from this distance, Priscilla could see the way Sulaiman's normally long, straight nose was unnaturally crooked, with fat drops of blood rolling down his lips and chin, and one of his eyes was swollen shut.

But Sulaiman's gaze was determined as he pushed himself to his feet, as if he planned to rush in their direction despite the fact it'd bring him closer to the woman radiating magical energy.

"We got to move," Priscilla hissed, pulling Illnyea to her feet and ignoring how her ribs protested mightily from the effort. Illnyea stumbled, but Priscilla steadied her sister and made sure Illnyea was ahead of her, as Priscilla refused to allow Illnyea's back to be exposed to The Starving One.

Illnyea didn't let go of Priscilla's hand, tightening as Priscilla considered slipping away to potentially go for The Starving One's back. Even though they were still knee deep in shit, that small gesture made Priscilla's heart lighter.

The Starving One had gathered divine power in her hands as she glared at the newt, who the cannibal had been delightedly imagining feasting on just twenty minutes earlier.

The newt, as if sensing The Starving One was powering up, decided to open the thin membrane on its third pair of eyes and glare right back. It was strange how Priscilla could sense the way the petrifying gaze sent magic through the air and it was stranger still how she felt the way that The Starving One used the divine energy she gathered to summon a shimmering dome to reflect the petrification.

Priscilla pushed that awareness to the back of her mind as she and Illnyea sprinted across the camp. The newt's body recoiled as the petrifying head went limp and it hissed with its two other heads, the sound reverberating in Priscilla's bones like a bass speaker with the volume cranked on high.

"Sulaiman," Illnyea gasped as they came to a halt, staring with disbelief, "your face."

Illnyea's hand tightened around Priscilla's and honestly it was awkward with their positioning, but Priscilla didn't have the heart to pull away completely. So Priscilla shifted and offered her numb hand for Illnyea to cling to while Priscilla tucked the still warm bag of quartz into her pocket.

"I'm fine, Illnyea," Sulaiman said, some of the rigidness in his posture softening at Illnyea's concern, "but you look like you lost a fight with a mud puddle."

His voice was more nasally and wet than usual, and when he spoke, Priscilla saw that his teeth were covered in blood. Illnyea huffed as Kavil scrambled to stand, standing on Sulaiman's left.

"Shit's straight fucked," Priscilla said, cutting in before any more banter could happen and keep them focused on the two very big problems.

"I felt the wave of magic," Sulaiman said, the softness dissipating from his countenance as quickly as it had appeared, "but I don't know what caused it."

"The crazy bitch ate something that's given her a massive power boost," Priscilla said, glancing nervously over her shoulder and saw that The Starving One had picked up the log next to the fire and tossed it at the newt, who caught it with its water gun head and snapped it in half, "and as much as I would hope the gorgon newt would kill her, I don't think she's going down easily."

Kavil glanced nervously as the newt. "Doesn't it petrify people?"

"Didn't seem to stick when it tried," Priscilla said.

They all turned to look when the newt let out another roar as it rushed forward, crashing through the flimsy fence and knocking over one of the braziers, spilling out how coals onto the ground. Luckily, it seemed the ground was so damp that the embers didn't do much more than fizzle out.

The venomous head snapped at The Starving One, who dodged it so the newt only clamped down on air. The Starving One was somehow moving even faster than earlier, like the holes in her legs weren't even there, and raked her long nails along the side of the newt's mouth. That head reared back as another scalding blast came for The Starving One, hitting her in the stomach.

The Starving One grunted as she was pushed away but didn't seem to care that the water splashed onto the Raven, who was trying to crawl away from the chaos.

"Do we have to get involved?" Illnyea asked, sounding tired. "They might just take each other out without us needing to lift a finger."

When Priscilla looked up, she saw that Sulaiman was staring at her, an insistent but unsaid question in his gaze of, Can we afford to leave her alive?

"If The Starving One lives through this," Priscilla said, wetting her lips, "she seems like the type to hunt us down across continents to slowly eat us alive and make sure we die terrified."

Everyone went silent as they took in her words.

Kavil's eyes had something dark lurking there as he glanced at the cannibal, his jaw going stiff as he ground his teeth. Illnyea's shoulders slumped in disappointment, like she wanted a different answer before she straightened her spine once more. Sulaiman seemed to accept that fact the easiest with a nod, holding Priscilla's gaze for a moment longer.

"What's the plan?" Sulaiman asked Priscilla.

Priscilla really, really wished she had a plan, especially when both Illnyea and Kavil turned their expectant gazes towards her as well.

Damn you Sulaiman, Priscilla thought as she glanced back at the fight and tried to come up with something, why can't you be the strategist like you're supposed to be?

Granted, that might be an unfair thought because Sulaiman might have a concussion based on how Beowulf used his face as a punching bag, but the principle of the matter remained because Priscilla's plans were half-cocked and reckless compared to Sulaiman's more systematic and logical way of approaching a problem.

Despite the power up, The Starving One hadn't actually landed a solid hit on the newt, only glancing blows that oozed blood, which suggested the two might be more evenly matched than Priscilla had thought. The newt seemed entirely focused on the cannibal, sending another blast of scalding water at The Starving One as it took another earth shaking step forward.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

But this time, The Starving One actually dodged the stream and it sizzled against the grass. The cannibal spat a glob of poison at the newt, missing the open wounds and landing onto a webbed foot, though it didn't appear to do much based on the way the newt shook its foot like a pesky fly had landed there.

That simple move kicked Priscilla's brain cells into action.

"The power she's using can't be infinite," Priscilla said, mind whirling, "and the newt might have a better chance than I thought – if we can wear her down enough, we can give it an opening."

Sulaiman's gaze turned back to the fight, assessing.

"We can't get into melee range," Sulaiman said, sounding regretful as his fingers tapped along his sword. "I can send fire in her direction, but I don't know if that'd slow the cannibal down much."

"I can try to make the earth under her unstable," Illnyea offered with a smile that shone through the layer of dirt on her face. Priscilla was reluctant to let Illnyea cast more magic after being so close to a magical overload, but Illnyea's thumb rubbed soothingly over Priscilla's, like she sensed Priscilla's unease.

"I can use the crossbow?" Kavil offered, sounding unsure as he bit his lip.

"And I'll put my best skill to use," Priscilla said with a wide grin. Her ribs complained with every breath she took and her arm was numb, so Priscilla knew her body was not up to the task of doing anything physical right now.

"And that is?" Sulaiman asked dryly, narrowing his eyes like he suspected what she was about to say and didn't approve.

"Talking shit!"

Kavil snorted, then covered his mouth trying to hide it, and Illnyea just blinked in shock at Priscilla.

Sulaiman sighed heavily, but said, "Then we have our plan. Let's move."

Neither the newt or The Starving One took notice of them as they got into position, too caught up in fighting each other. Sulaiman was near one of the braziers, Kavil had taken up a position by the prisoners (who stared at him like he was an alien creature), and Illnyea lingered between the two of them, her palms flush against the ground.

Priscilla was near none of them, jogging briskly to the opposite side of camp just in case her shit-talking earned The Starving One retaliation. The three of them were waiting on her signal, so Priscilla took a deep breath.

"Hey, DUMBASS!" Priscilla shouted, cupping her mouth to amplify her voice.

The Starving One twitched, but didn't look in her direction as she sent up another shimmering barrier now that the petrifying head had recovered.

That's fine – Priscilla didn't really think that simple insult would work anyway.

"You've fucked up on such a massive scale," Priscilla taunted, "that when you try to apologize, your cult leader's just gonna beat your ass and wonder why the fuck he ever trusted you."

That, it seemed, was enough for The Starving One to turn her head towards Priscilla to glare with a red-rimmed lavender eye.

As the cannibal opened her mouth, likely wanting to spit poison, six motes of flame slammed into her side, burning the woman's bare arm and catching the dress alight.

"What a waste of a beautiful dress," Priscilla called out as The Starving One hissed, putting out the flames. "Bet the cult leader only gave it to you to try and hide that ugly, beastial nature of yours."

"You–" The Starving One spat but was cut off as the newt sent another blast of water her way. The Starving One was knocked to her knees from the unexpected impact, grunting as she landed.

But as the cannibal tried to stand, the ground shifted beneath her and a spike shot up, just barely missing The Starving One's face as she jerked to the side.

The Starving One growled and slammed her hands into the earth, gray energy sinking into and making the dirt stop shifting.

"Well, I suppose your face matches your inner grotesqueness now," Priscilla said conversationally, "so why don't you hold still and let us put you out of your misery?"

If The Starving One had been able to eat the gorgon newt liked she had wanted, Priscilla would be dead several times over from petrification. But the petrifying power rested solely with the beast, whose third head was starting to stir again.

Gotta keep the cannibal's eyes on her.

"Come on," Priscilla cajoled, infusing her voice with mock pity, "do you really think the cult leader will love you anymore? At least this way, if you die now, he might actually still mourn you."

There was a whole lot of power building in The Starving One and Priscilla could see gray cracks appear on the woman's arms, like she was drawing on too much power.

But the power abruptly halted its momentum as the newt finally, finally, petrified The Starving One with its gaze.

A twang rang out and a crossbow bolt shot through the air, burying itself into The Starving One's shoulder. Even petrified, Priscilla saw how the woman's eye quivered with pain and her mouth twitched like she wanted to scream.

If that wasn't a good enough opportunity for the newt, Priscilla didn't know what would be.

Priscilla's skin prickled with the telltale sign of magic being casted and she followed the pain to the Raven, who had been largely forgotten during this ordeal. The woman had abandoned the rock gauntlets and was now clutching a pendant. She had crawled towards The Starving One, who was holding onto life with the stubbornness of a mule.

The Raven grabbed The Starving One's mutilated hand. The Raven whispered something, her voice stolen by the newt's roars, and she was crying as she stared up at The Starving One.

The magic intensified and Priscilla didn't like whatever it was building towards.

"Stop them!" Priscilla yelled, but as she said it, she knew that everyone was too far away to do anything. Sulaiman's fire bolts were in mid-formation, the crossbow in Kavil's hand was facing the ground, and though Illnyea's face was twisted in concentration, it was clear that the divine energy was still interfering with her magic.

But The Starving One wasn't only fighting them, Priscilla remembered.

She watched it all go down in slow motion.

The newt reached down and took The Starving One's head into its maw, green saliva mixing with blood as it bit down, the sound of crushed bone ringing through the air. The Starving One began to go limp as the newt readjusted its bite to swallow the shoulders as well, trying to wrest the cannibal out of the Raven's grip.

The Raven's wide, horrified eyes were the last thing Priscilla saw before the woman disappeared along with The Starving One's dead body, and the Three-Headed Gorgon Newt.

Priscilla blinked three times to make sure that really just happened, and then looked at her friends' equally confused faces.

"Uh," Priscilla said intelligently, "mission accomplished?"

.

.

.

(far away, in a safehouse known to very few, a newt hissed angrily as one of its other heads snapped forward and took off the head of the annoying creature that had almost stolen its prey from it. it had gone after the prey because He said it would let the newt grow even larger, even more powerful so that all the other monsters in its territory wouldn't dare to challenge it, but it was such a hassle.

the newt was so caught up in swallowing the head and being angry about the effort it took to fight the prey that it missed the other predator in the room with it.

within one second and the next, the newt found that it only had two heads.

then only one.

then the newt knew nothing at all.)

He had not even meant to be here long, only stopping for a brief rest before he checked in with Olerian, but...

He regarded the scene in front of him with pity and regret.

So much wasted potential.

The Starving One, as Adelpha insisted on being called once she had reached her teenage years, had only ever wanted to make him happy, ever since he found her in that ruined house during the War for the Wellsprings. She had been trapped with the corpses of her family underneath a rockslide caused by one of the warring factions and with no other sources of food, she ate her mother and father to stay alive.

Adelpha was a broken girl, eyes so empty and lifeless, he had seen himself in her for a brief moment.

A child with nothing who experienced things that would make a grown man crumble from the terrible weight of knowing the world was unjust and unfair.

So, he had reached out his hand to her in a moment of compassion. She clutched at it with tears, a ragged voice thanking him over and over, vowing that she would repay him for his kindness. He picked up her thin body, feeling each one of Adelpha's ribs beneath his palm, and his jaw tightened.

He ensured that night that the foolish war was put to an end. He had gotten what he wanted out of the conflict, and there was no more use for needless suffering.

He hadn't even known then of Adelpha's wondrous power to take on the qualities of that which she ate, but he saw it as a sign – lead a path of righteousness and destiny will ensure that those best suited to walk alongside you will find their way to you.

If only destiny was not such a cruel mistress, ripping away those he loved time and time again.

He knelt down and arranged the two battered bodies as neatly as he could. He had not known Adelpha's helpers well, but she spoke of them with clear affection and love, telling him that she was following in his footsteps and reaching out a hand to those who needed it most.

Blood stained his palms, but he cared not as he ripped apart the monster that dared to kill his chosen. He found their skulls within its esophagus and gently placed them with their bodies so that he may arrange a proper funeral for them.

That would be later, however, when he had gathered himself enough to prepare funeral rites for Adelpha.

He had told her to be careful, but it seemed his little starving girl's hunger had grown too great once more and Adelpha went for prey that was not so easily taken down. They had fled too late, it seemed, and he wished Adelpha had been less stubborn, less rash. Whenever her temper flared, she would refuse to back down unless he was there to talk sense into her.

But as he adjusted the tattered dress he had painstakingly chosen for her because he knew how much Adelpha enjoyed the finer things in life, he stilled as his eyes caught on something sticking out of her shoulder. Looking closer, it appeared to be the broken shaft of a crossbow bolt.

He examined her body more closely. There were puncture wounds in her legs and hands that did not match the monster's teeth or claws, nor could they be explained by another crossbow wound.

He brushed a finger along the gaping hole, closing his eyes as he called upon the power She had blessed him with before She had been stolen out of his grasp, and let it infuse into Adelpha's broken body.

Human magic had made these wounds, a mage talented with earth specifically, and one talented with fire had burned her skin. The crossbow bolt had been laced with a pain curse. Adelpha, his little Adelpha with lavender eyes always crinkled into a smile, had been in excruciating pain even before the monster had delivered the final blow.

Perhaps he should have seen it as the monster granting Adelpha mercy, but he wished he had let the monster live longer so that he may have an outlet for his rage.

He was not a man prone to hatred, but as he knelt next to the body of the woman he had raised from childhood, he thought that this time, it might be warranted. He lingered on the traces of the magic within her, letting himself become familiar with the weight and feel of it, so that he may recognize the mages who had done this when their paths crossed.

The Apostle opened his eyes, hatred taking root deep within his heart, as he whispered, "Adelpha, your death will not go unpunished."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.